The Technology for Emerging Markets Group at Microsoft Research India, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, hosted a summer school to bring together attendees from engineering and the social sciences and expose them to cutting edge research in this exciting field. Several eminent researchers in the Information and Communication Technologies and Development research area and related fields presented lectures in their areas of specialization and attendees experienced a range of current research and practice.
About ICTD
Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) is an inter-disciplinary research area that aims to understand, design, and apply ICTs in efforts to improve the socioeconomic well-being of disadvantaged people in poor communities and the developing world. Researchers in this area include computer scientists, social scientists, designers and a range of other fields.
Objective of the Summer School
The summer school hopes to excite and equip graduate students, faculty members and outstanding undergraduate students with the tools needed to conduct research in the area of ICTD. The school is also an opportunity for researchers and faculty members to network with their peers and the speakers. While students comprised the bulk of the attendees, we also had participation from post-doctoral researchers, research staff and faculty members.
This page includes a detailed schedule on the summer school including slides and relevant papers for many of the presentations made during the school.
Organizing Committee
Ed Cutrell - Microsoft Research India
H.S. Jamadagni - Indian Institute of Science
Kentaro Toyama - University of California, Berkeley
Speakers
Michael Best - Georgia Tech
Ashok V. Desai - Consulting Editor, Businessworld; Formerly Chief Consultant, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
Joyojeet Pal - Polytechnic Institute of New York University and ATLAS Institute, CU Boulder
Tapan Parikh - University of California, Berkeley
Isha Ray - University of California, Berkeley
Revi Sterling - University of Colorado at Boulder
Kentaro Toyama - University of California, Berkeley
Researchers from Technology for Emerging Markets research group, Microsoft Research India
Schedule and Content
Venue: Auditorium, Center for Electronics Design & Technology (CEDT), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Sunday, June 13: Welcome to the summer school!
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture | Ed Cutrell | Welcome and overview PDF |
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Activity | Ed Cutrell | Introductions and icebreakers |
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Exercise | TEM staff | Small-group discussion on goals of development |
Monday, June 14: What is development?
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture | Revi Sterling |
History of Development Theory and Practice PDF |
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Exercise | Aishwarya Ratan |
Development Practice Examined through Case Studies PDF |
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1415 | Lecture | Jonathan Donner, Aishwarya Ratan, Bill Thies | Overview of Field Activity PDF |
| 1415 - 1800 | Activity | Students | Field activity in small groups DOC |
Tuesday, June 15: ICTs & development
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture | Jonathan Donner |
Understanding Technology & Society through Mobile Phone Behaviors PDF Reading: [1] |
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Activity | Michael Best | Why Focus on ICTs for Development PDF |
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Excercise | Revi Sterling | Informed Consent in ICTD Projects PDF |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1730 | Panel | Ed Cutrell | Panel on Informed Consent (Michael Best, Revi Sterling, Jonathan Donner, Nimmi Rangaswamy)Informed consent in ICTD projects |
Wednesday, June 16: Projects in ICTD
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Conference Talks |
Nimmi Rangaswamy |
Entrepreneurship and ICTD PDF |
| Revi Sterling | Advancement through Interactive Radio PDF | ||
| Mike Best | Impact of ICTs in Post-Conflict Liberia | ||
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Conference Talks |
Saurabh Panjwani |
Secure and Usable Authentication for Mobile Banking PPT |
| Jonathan Donner | Mobile Use by Micro and Small Enterprises PDF | ||
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1800 | Field Activity | Students | Continuation of field activity |
Thursday, June 17: Qualitative methods
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lectures |
Isha Ray |
Qualitative Methods & Social Science PDF Reading: [1] |
| Nimmi Rangaswamy |
The Art of the Interview PDF Reading: [2] | ||
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lectures |
Isha Ray |
Designing Surveys PDF |
|
Nimmi Rangaswamy |
Conducting Ethnographies PDF | ||
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1730 | Exercise | Students | Practice with Qualitative Methods |
Friday, June 18: Design: What to build, why and how?
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture |
Tapan Parikh |
Development as Design PDF |
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture |
Indrani Medhi |
Design Challenges in Working with Low-literate Users PDF |
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Lecture | Tapan Parikh | Techniques for working with NGOs and other field partners PDF |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Field Activity | Students |
Continuation of field activity |
Saturday, June 19: Understanding poor communities
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture |
Indrani Medhi |
A portrait of everyday life in a village PDF |
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture |
Geeta Menon |
Life in an urban slum |
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1800 | Field Trip | Indrani Medhi | Guided tours of slum communities |
Sunday, June 20: Rest Day
Monday, June 21: Projects in ICTD
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Conference Talks |
Prof. Jamadagni |
You and Your Research PDF |
| Ed Cutrell | Intermediated Technology Use in Developing Communities PDF | ||
| 1030 - 1100 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Conference Talks |
Yaw Anowka Carl Hartung |
Open Data Kit: Building Information Services for Low-Income Regions PDF |
| David Hutchful | Cloze: An Authoring Tool for Teachers PDF | ||
|
Bill Thies |
Interactive DVDs for Education | ||
| 1230 - 1400 | Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Poster Session | Students | Poster presentations based on results from field activity. (Files will be posted soon.) |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Group Activity | Students |
Research proposal preparation – session 1 PDF |
Tuesday, June 22: Study methodologies, study design and evaluation issues
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lectures |
Aishwarya Ratan |
Quantitative Data Analysis PDF |
| Nimmi Rangaswamy | Analyzing Qualitative Data PDF | ||
|
1030 - 1100 |
Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture + Exercise |
Aishwarya Ratan |
Impact Evaluation PDF Reading: [1] |
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Lectures | Ed Cutrell | Fundamentals of User Studies PDF |
| Aishwarya Ratan |
Paper Discussion (The Digital Provide: Information Technology, Market Performance and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector) Reading: [2] | ||
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Activity | All |
Movie & discussion |
Wednesday, June 23: Pessimism & optimism in ICTD
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture |
Kentaro Toyama |
Ten Myths of ICTD PDF |
|
1030 - 1100 |
Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture |
Rikin Gandhi |
The Digital Green Story PPSX |
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Discussion | Kentaro Toyama |
Paper discussion (What Constitutes Good ICTD Research) |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Group Activity | Students |
Research proposal preparation – session 2 |
Thursday, June 24: From government policy to development outcomes
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture |
Ashok Desai |
Economic policy and implications for technology and development PDF |
|
1030 - 1100 |
Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture |
Joyojeet Pal |
Technology and Disability in the Developing World PDF |
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch | ||
| 1400 - 1530 | Lecture | Solomon Jaya Prakash | Labournet PDF |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Panel | Bill Thies |
Professional development advice on pursuing a research career (Kentaro Toyama, Isha Ray, Joyojeet Pal, Solomon Jay Prakash, Ed Cutrell) |
Friday, June 25: Beyond research
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Lecture |
Sean Blagsvedt |
Sustaining development interventions beyond pilot phase—the Babajob Case PDF |
|
1030 - 1100 |
Tea/Coffee |
||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lectures |
Rikin Gandhi |
Spinning Out: How hard can this be? PPSX |
| Kentaro Toyama | Make it Memorable: A Presentation on Presentations PPT | ||
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch |
||
| 1400 - 1530 | Short Presentations | Students | "Open mic” feedback session on students' research projects |
| 1530 - 1600 | Tea/Coffee | ||
| 1600 - 1800 | Group Activity | Students |
Research proposal preparation – session 3 |
Saturday, June 26: Professional development/conference day
| 1100 - 1230 | Short Presentations |
Students |
Single-track, 5-minute presentation of research proposal + 5-minute Q&A per group |
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch |
||
| 1400 - 1530 | Short Presentations |
Students |
Single-track, 5-minute presentation of research proposal + 5-minute Q&A per group |
Sunday, June 27: Wrap up and farewell
| 0800 - 0900 | Breakfast | ||
| 0900 - 1030 | Activity |
Group |
Feedback and Wrap-Up |
|
1030 - 1100 |
Tea/Coffee |
||
| 1100 - 1230 | Lecture |
Ed Cutrell |
Open discussion |
|
1230 - 1400 |
Lunch |
For enquiries, please send an e-mail message to indiaerp@microsoft.com.
Acknowledgements
- Prof. N. Balakrishnan - Associate Director, Indian Institute of Science
- Center for Electronics Design and Technology, Indian Institute of Science
